Ecotoxicological evaluation of wasterwaters from Centro de Bioactivos Quimicos (Santa Clara, Cuba) in Artemia sp.

The investigation and development of bioassays in the estimation and characterization of the contamination is an effective mean in the evaluation of the potential ecotoxic effects of residuals on the organisms that inhabit the aquatic ecosystems. These studies have contributed to its wide use in biomonitoring of chemical residues when they were released into the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of untreated and processed wastewater in a waste treatment plant on Artemia sp. larvae, annexed to the production plant of the Chemical Bioactive Center (CBQ) (Santa Clara, Cuba). These residues were generated in the production process of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (IFA) Furvina and its intermediates. Populations of Artemia sp. larvae were exposed to selected concentrations of two wastewater samples at 24 hour exposure times. The LC50 value of the two samples was only estimated because the untreated waters produced total mortality in the five concentrations studied, and the treated waters did not produce mortality in the five dilutions tested. The detoxification of the waste water was demonstrated through the environmental bioindicator species Artemia sp.